Innholdsfortegnelse for October 28, 2020 i Autocar

Jaguar’s updated range is now complete with the unveiling of the revised-for-2020 E-Pace. Far from being just a facelift, the small SUV has moved to a new platform to allow it to accommodate both mild-hybrid and plug-in powertrains. The 2020 E-Pace follows on from the recently overhauled XE, XF and F-Pace, with the F-Type updated last year. The revisions here are arguably more extensive, though, as the old Ford-related D8 platform has been ditched for Jaguar Land Rover’s newer PTA platform. It’s the same change that the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque made in 2019. Jaguar claims the new underpinnings benefit handling, ride and overall refinement thanks to improved suspension attachment stiffness. But the main purpose has been to transform the powertrain offerings. Six of the seven…

Alpine will become a core part of Groupe Renault’s strategy, according to new boss Luca de Meo, with one of its key missions to make electric cars “thrilling and emotional”. Its A110 sports car is also set to live on with a number of variants. Having recently announced that Renault’s Formula 1 team will be renamed Alpine from next season, de Meo explained: “You had three entities: an F1 team, the Renault Sport engineering unit and a plant in Dieppe that was half empty, where the A110 is produced. Plus a brand like Alpine, which has some cachet and heritage, which you can’t buy. “In a company with strong financial issues [like Renault], the temptation is to say ‘let’s stop this, let’s stop that’. But what I saw was the…

THE GOVERNMENT’S PLAN to legalise the use of hands-free Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) on motorways next year has come under fire from one of the country’s leading road safety bodies. Thatcham Research claims that the proposal, which would be implemented in spring 2021, pending the results of a safety consultation ending this week, would “put road users’ lives at risk”, because the current technology has “significant performance limitations”. Although systems have to be updated from the current, widely offered lane-keeping assistance software to be classified as ALKS, the main difference is that the car would no longer prompt drivers to return their hands to the wheel after a number of seconds. “Both the functionality of this technology and the regulations under which they will operate are limited,” said Thatcham.…

THINGS THAT MOST people can take for granted, such as the elevation of an object (for example, a car on the ground compared with a bridge or gantry overhead) isn’t so straightforward for some sensing systems. The idea is that fully autonomous cars will need a fusion of data from different sensors, like radar, cameras and lidar. It’s the last of these that presents an issue, because it’s still a very expensive technology. Lidar is a kind of laser-based radar (light detection and ranging, as opposed to radio detection and ranging), and a lidar unit contains arrays of sensors that enable it to build a detailed picture as a ‘point cloud’. The downsides of lidar, apart from cost, are that it, like cameras, can be affected by the weather. Radar,…

This, then, is the £30,000 Ford Focus. Not the crackling, warm-blooded ST, but the slightly higher-riding Active X car, adorned with ostensibly protective (but more realistically decorative) body cladding, specified in plush Vignale trim and, in this case, equipped with a new mild-hybrid version of the 1.0-litre Ecoboost, the only petrol option now available. The 48V system is familiar from the Puma crossover and has been introduced to the Focus as a means of eking out a few more miles between fuel stops and cutting down on emissions. Ford claims an efficiency boost of up to 17% over the outgoing 1.5-litre engine, with economy up from 48.7mpg to 51.4mpg. It’s available in 122bhp and, as tested here, 153bhp forms. In reality, of course, any economic benefits are best viewed over…

1 ASTON MARTIN DBX Aston Martin’s debut SUV shoots straight to the top of the class. Balances engaging dynamism and usability to magnificent effect. 2 BENTLEY BENTAYGA Not quite as sharp as the Aston but makes up ground when it comes to sheer luxury. Super-refined and comfortable; devastatingly quick, too. 3 ROLLS-ROYCE CULLINAN Huge luxury appeal, even if it doesn’t come with the image to match. Refinement and polish are both exceptional, however – as is the price. 4 LAMBORGHINI URUS The Urus accelerates, stops and handles unlike any super-SUV we’ve yet to encounter. Shrinking violets certainly need not apply. 5 RANGE ROVER SV AUTOBIOGRAPHY LWB Imperious Rangie flagship is still a marvellous thing, even if it’s now showing its age. Arguably the most tasteful of the bunch.…

A display board directs you to an available EV charging bay, one of up to 10 150kW ultra-rapid chargers occupying the main forecourt and protected from the elements by a pair of opposing, stylish-looking canopies fitted with solar panels. Nearby, a Little Waitrose convenience store, a Costa, free wi-fi, a parcel collection point and, holy of holies, clean lavatories. All this and not a petrol or a diesel pump in sight. Welcome to the forecourt of the future, as conceived by Shell. No marketer’s pipe dream, the company’s first all-EV charging station opens for business early next year in Fulham, London. “We call it Project Evelyn – an energy hub where you can recharge yourself and recharge your car,” says Bernie Williamson, general retail manager at Shell UK. “Exactly when…

At the end of October, the three-month motor finance repayment freeze, recommended by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help car buyers struggling with their finances during the pandemic, will be replaced by guidance that no longer includes this valuable break. Instead, from 1 November, the FCA expects finance companies to offer anyone facing repayment difficulties “a tailored package of support, taking into account the ongoing situation”. The support the FCA recommends ranges from rescheduling payments or putting in place sustainable repayment arrangements to suspending or even cancelling interest payments. It’s generous, but should customers accept their lender’s help, the fact will be recorded on their credit file. While ensuring they only borrow responsibly, this could hamper a person’s ability to borrow money at reasonable interest rates and is a…

Ricciardo says no to Nordschleife Daniel Ricciardo said that he has been put off ever wanting to race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife after a “scare” on the track while driving a Renault Mégane RS on a promotional event recently. “I scared myself in the first 500 metres, and that set the tone for the next 22 kilometres,” said the Renault Formula 1 star. “I was timid, let’s say that.” Red Bull aims for early engine decision Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner says he is aiming for a quick decision on what power units the team will use from 2022, following Honda’s decision to quit F1 at the end of next year. Horner wants a decision by the end of this year, before any development work begins on the…

FIRST REPORT WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see if the heavily updated SUV in mild-hybrid diesel form is a worthy contender in this segment Once upon a time, you would get one mid-life model update in a car’s five- to seven-year life, and that would be it. But the race to compete with rivals technologically has changed the landscape so much that frequent, smaller updates can be found on cars most years these days. That’s why this Discovery Sport variant is no longer available, already surpassed by a ‘model year 2021 update’ announced in August. Fear not: the fundamentals of this Disco Sport remain utterly relevant, introduced in a significant mid-life refresh last year. So significant that it included a totally new platform called Premium Transverse Architecture – the same…

Few cars have been subject to a public campaign threatening their very existence, but when a band of thieves outran West Midlands Police’s fleet of Peugeot 405s and Austin Montegos using a stolen Lotus Carlton in 1993, the car was deemed “unsafe” and “unreasonable” by the government itself. With five usable seats and a 177mph top speed that eclipsed pretty much anything else with indicators, this long-lost Lotus, registration 40 RA, consistently evaded capture as the petty criminals embarked on a ram-raiding spree over the course of several months. A local police officer complained of being unable “to get near the thing” and the Daily Mail launched an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to have the Carlton banned from public roads. The fate of 40 RA remains uncertain to this day. There’s…

“Lotus has worked extensively on material usage for its SUV to ensure that lightness remains at its core” Lotus is already far into the development of one of the most important models in its history: an SUV tasked with generating sales volumes the British marque has never seen before. It’s the key component in Chinese parent company Geely’s commitment to “restoring Lotus into being a leading global luxury brand”. Autocar has learned that the high-riding model, internally codenamed the Lambda, will adopt fully electric power from launch in 2022, rather than hybrid propulsion, as was originally believed. Production will also centre on China, where demand for premium electric vehicles remains strong. Conceived under former Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales, the SUV project first surfaced in 2016. At that time, it was…

GENERAL MOTORS’ REVIVAL of the Hummer brand has come in the form of a 986bhp electric pick-up truck that has “unprecedented off-road capability and extraordinary on-road performance”, the company claims. Resurrected as a sub-brand to the GMC marque, Hummer will spawn a range of electric off-road vehicles for the US. The Tesla Cybertruck rival will enter production late next year ahead of sales starting in 2022. Its design blends a traditional, military-style look with high-tech elements and is said to “reimagine an instantly recognisable silhouette for a modern, all-electric future”. The cabin features a 13.4in infotainment display, a standard removable ‘Infinity Roof’ and what’s claimed to be an industry-leading camera system offering 18 different views. It also gets GM’s Super Cruise 8 system to allow hands-free driving on specially enabled…

On 10 June this year, Nikola, a US start-up specialising in battery-electric and fuel-cell commercial vehicles, briefly became more valuable than Ford after optimistic investors pushed its stock value to $33 billion. It had yet to sell a vehicle, against more than five million sales a year for Ford. It has been an extraordinary year for electric car start-ups, which have seized on the unprecedented appetite for tech stocks to fund themselves by listing on US exchanges. After Nikola went public in June, Chinese electric car firm Li Auto listed in July, followed by Fisker, run by ex-Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker. Then came Chinese electric SUV hopeful Xpeng, and US sales-by-subscription EV start-up Canoo. Other, previously listed electric vehicle makers saw their stock reach barely believable heights. Tesla, the…

If you didn’t know that Hyundai was in the midst of a relentless premium push, one look at the new i20 would leave you in no doubt about the Korean firm’s intentions. Now in its third generation, Seoul’s supermini is the first recipient of the bold new Sensuous Sportiness (yes, really) design language, which aims to inject desirability and glamour into a brand that remains best known for sensible stuff like value for money and long warranties. Sharp visuals aren’t the only elements of this ambitious attack on the crowded sector, because the i20 also promises a roomier and more upmarket interior that leads the way for technology and connectivity. In addition, there’s a huge list of driver safety aids and now almost obligatory mild-hybrid engines, in this instance packing…

While the all-new i20 has been stealing the headlines, Hyundai has quietly updated its larger i30 sibling. There are enhanced engines, tweaked visuals and an increase in connectivity and safety tech. But is this enough to transform the i30 from capable also-ran to contender? Visually, this is the very mildest of facelifts, with some Seat Leon-aping LED signature headlights on the outside, while the roomy and well-equipped interior gets Hyundai’s well-honed 10.25in infotainment system. There are also new air vents, a reworked TFT instrument cluster and some revised materials inside. The biggest changes happen under the skin, where you’ll find the firm’s 48V mild-hybrid technology and a six-speed manual gearbox with electrically actuated clutch and freewheeling function, all elements designed to boost efficiency. It’s essentially the same turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder…

The DBX’s height-adjustable air suspension gives it as much off-road ability as owners of a near-£200k exotic car are likely to want. The numbers (on right, and which apply to the car at its maximum ride height) are further proof that while Gaydon clearly wanted some dual-purpose versatility for the DBX, it didn’t intend to make this a car with the last word in mud-plugging ability. These are the statistics of a semi-serious SUV rather than a proper off-roader. Even so, the car is available with the choice of Pirelli all-season or full-on winter tyres, if you’d prefer either to the standard-fit performance P Zero road tyres. We tested it on mud and gravel with the all-season option, and it didn’t struggle to climb slippery grades or handle fairly deep…

It’s possible I missed it after 40 years of the Audi Quattro and 30 years of the Honda NSX, but amid all the automotive anniversaries that have been celebrated in 2020, I don’t recall too much bunting strewing the streets in celebration of the fact that this is the year in which the Ford Escort XR3 hit its fifth decade. Perhaps that’s not terribly surprising, but we should pause even just for a moment to consider that it has now been four decades since Ford’s fast family hatchback has been running up against what is now eight successive generations of Volkswagen Golf GTI. I wonder how many of those encounters it has actually won? Few if any of the early skirmishes, I would warrant, and probably fewer still after the…

Shell isn’t the only energy retailer looking to help customers make more productive use of their EV’s charging time. In August, BP Chargemaster launched a partnership with Marks & Spencer when it unveiled three 50kW rapid chargers at the company’s Maidstone store, off junction seven of the M20 in Kent. The chargers dispense 100% renewable electricity and feature contactless payment terminals and connectors for all capable electric vehicles. They are part of BP Chargemaster’s Polar public charging network and are accessible with a Polar Plus membership RFID card or the Polar Instant PAYG app. The new service is the first of a five-store trial. Matteo de Renzi, CEO of BP Chargemaster, said: “As well as serving existing Marks & Spencer customers who already or will soon drive electric vehicles, we…

Guess who the favourite might be to win the final round of the 2020 World Rally Championship in December? None other than Valentino Rossi – if someone sees sense and signs him up. Given the seven-time MotoGP champion’s own positive diagnosis two weeks ago, there could be no more powerful message about how motorsport is managing to overcome the coronavirus. This year’s final event will be the Monza Rally Show, held at the home of the Italian Grand Prix. It will be a curious mix of WRC glamour allied to the rough-and-ready appeal of a single-venue rally (although the event will feature stages away from the circuit), which for most drivers will be a proper trip down memory lane. Rossi has won four of the past five Monza rallies and…

I read with interest Mark Tisshaw’s final report on his BMW 330e (Our Cars, 26 August) and can echo many of his conclusions regarding the pros and cons of plug-in hybrid ownership. It’s certainly true to say that if you can tick some quite specific boxes, this format of car can be better than no other in terms of frugal and rewarding driving. ing. I’ve run a Volkswagen Passat GTE Estate for six months, covering 5000 miles at an average of 75mpg. Most journeys are electric only with a range of 20-25 miles, temperature dependant. I’ve also done quite a few journeys of more than 200 miles, which were no problem, because there are no range issues. Almost all my electricity has been free. However, it’s not all about economy.…

MILEAGE 2226 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To make an owner’s comparison between traditional petrol and new battery versions of the same model We’ve covered the Corsa-e’s range and susceptibility to inclement weather in previous reports, so I won’t dwell on the matter, but it’s worth prefacing this instalment with the caveat that the EV’s most recent excursion left a sour taste. I left home with 99 miles of range showing, but my cul-de-sac must be longer than I thought, as 87 miles were showing by the time I’d left the neighbourhood. Just 25 miles later, I was standing in the pouring rain at Cobham services, desperately trying to coax life out of the sole unoccupied Ecotricity charger on site. Even with Eco mode on, the cruise control set to 62mph…

MILEAGE 84,65 BMW 320 Back to the sad-looking Baby Shark’s non-existent radio. This is important, because I will soon be faced with eight hours of travel and really can’t face that much time with all those voices in my head. I can rustle up a static crackle in the BMW but nothing more than that. There is one random spade connection that doesn’t attach to anything. I’m rather tempted to go back to basics and chuck the radio away. I can remember installing sound systems with just a few wires, and I can’t understand how this became so complicated. I may do something radical and get my wire-cutters out. Or not.…

There’s no reason why a premium car has to be a large one, nor any good reason why a small one shouldn’t feature fancy technology. The original A1 wrapped all the good qualities of larger Audis in a nifty package that immediately became a hit, and although its successor grew a little larger around the waist, it embodies the same principles. Engine choices are plentiful. At the top of the tree is a 197bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol (badged 40 TFSI) that’s paired exclusively to a smooth six-speed automatic gearbox. But more sensible options include the 148bhp 1.5-litre (35 TFSI), 113bhp 1.0-litre (30 TFSI) and entry-level 94bhp 1.0-litre (25 TFSI) turbo petrols. However, it’s tech that really sets the A1 apart from other superminis, because even the base SE model (later…

FIAT UNO TURBO IE Enthusiasts joke that the ‘ie’ suffix stands for ‘idles erratically’, but this stunning example of the hen’s tooth that is the Fiat Uno Turbo sounds like a properly sorted proposition. Its £12,000 hammer price would have bought a very clean Mk2 Volkswagen Golf GTI or Ford Fiesta XR2, but government data shows that just 12 UK examples of this feisty Fiat are still in use, so it’s got rarity well and truly on its side. Factoring in its recent restoration and a dusting of performance-oriented modifications, this seems a very safe (and hilariously fun) bet for its new owner.…

With a Lotus-inspired suspension set-up, baby Jaguar E-Type styling and a 0-60mph time of just 8.0sec, the Datsun 240Z had pretty much everything going for it, so it was no surprise that it quickly became one of the most acclaimed and popular sports cars of its time. With its 2.4-litre (hence the name) straight-six engine sending 150bhp to its rear axle and a kerb weight of little more than a tonne, the 240Z was aimed squarely at accessible sports cars like the MGB and Lancia Fulvia Coupé, but it was so comparatively well built, modern and quick that it gained a much more widespread global following. That legacy is still strong today, and it’s the success of the 240Z and its successors (running right through to today’s 370Z) that make…

FIAT WILL BEGIN customer deliveries of the all-new electric 500 in March 2021 and pricing will start from £19,995 (after the plug-in car grant) when order books open in December. That base figure nets you the hatchback-only Action model, which is powered by a 94bhp electric motor and is capable of 0-62mph in 9.4sec and an 84mph top speed. The 23.8kWh battery offers a 115-mile claimed range and can charge at speeds of up to 50kW. Prices climb to £23,495 for Passion trim, which can be specified with a sliding fabric convertible top for an extra £2650. The Passion 500 gets a 42kWh battery for a 199-mile range – 55 miles more than the £24,900 Mini Electric. It also gets more power, up to 117bhp for a 0-62mph time of…

RENAULT MUST RETAKE a hold of the mid-size car market to succeed, new boss Luca de Meo has said. “We need to get back to doing things that Renault traditionally did,” he said. “Namely, we need to reconquer the C-segment with a different bodystyle, especially with SUVs or crossovers. If you compare our position with our closest competitor, the PSA Group, they’ve done a really good job with the Peugeot 3008 and 308, which we didn’t.” De Meo’s first priority is to “recentre the brand”, rather than focus on lower-profit, entry-level models for developing markets. “I was presented with an array of A- and B-segment models for exotic markets,” he said. “I probably killed seven or eight programmes and reintroduced five or six in other markets. We’re accelerating to recentre…

The UK car market reached a significant markstone in the first nine months of this year: it was the first time that we had bought more cars with automatic gearboxes than manual gearboxes. The slow demise of manuals has been showing in sales data for a while, but the trend has spiked markedly in the past three years. It also coincides with an announcement earlier this month of the first major European car maker to stop producing manual gearboxes altogether. Mercedes-Benz confirmed that it will do this as part of a cost-cutting initiative that also includes drastically reducing its range of combustion engines. Manuals will be phased out between now and 2030, according to a spokesman. Mercedes now offers manuals only in its compact models, which include the A-Class and…

Meet the most advanced production car yet to wear the three-pointed star. Not since the very first Mercedes-Benz models started rolling off the production line in 1926 to set the brand on course for global luxury car prominence has Stuttgart attempted to produce something approaching the engineering complexity and sheer technical ambition of the new S-Class saloon. “In investment terms, no other Mercedes model comes close,” says Jürgen Weissinger, the man charged with the development of the seventh-generation S-Class and its upcoming new sister model, the electric EQS. The Mk7 S-Class isn’t just new; it also represents an entirely different engineering and technical philosophy to the car it replaces. It’s one centred on electrification, digitisation and connectivity, albeit within the flagship model’s traditional values of comfort, refinement and performance. It’s…

When Land Rover launched the new Defender, it was easy enough to understand why the company majored first on the longer-wheelbase 110 versions, but it was still a disappointment given that, as its own designers have often pointed out, the shorter 90 carries the iconic shape. Now the 90 has landed at last, held up for a while by Covid and still subject to about a three-month delivery delay, it’s possible to see how different – and similar – it really is to the longer model, about which we’ve already written extensively. It’s quite clearly a modular car: the monocoque chassis, suspension, steering and powertrain packages are all closely related. The interest lies in the effect carving 20in out of the wheelbase has on stuff like kerb weight, handling and…

Audi has a veritable smorgasbord of performance-tuned models, many of which are faster, cleverer and quite a lot more expensive than the (relatively speaking) humble S3. But quite often in a range, there is a Goldilocks car – one that combines enough of the qualities of its more well-endowed siblings with the ideal blend of size, everyday usability and, crucially, price. The S3, in either hatch or the saloon form we have here, could well qualify for this accolade. It also has a bit of heritage. Although by no means the genesis of four-wheel-drive hot hatches, the first-gen S3 of 1999 is credited with democratising the all-paw everyday fast hatch, once the preserve of hardcore rally homologation specials. But that was two decades ago and rivals have long caught up.…

MODEL TESTED ASTON MARTIN DBX Price £158,000 • Power 542bhp • Torque 516lb ft • 0-60mph 4.6sec • 30-70mph in fourth 7.0sec • Fuel economy 17.0mpg • CO2 emissions 323g/km • 70-0mph 42.1m It was, for years, the prophecy that every lover of extravagant supercars, epic limousines, sleek GTs and exciting sport cars dreaded. But just as the introduction of an SUV worked like a charm for Porsche, so it is currently working out very nicely indeed for Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce. Having for so long been anathema to so many, the super-luxury, conspicuously consuming 4x4 has turned saviour of a sort. Aston Martin has just become the latest of the ‘big fish’ luxury car brands to launch such an ostentatious SUV. It has done so with a view to stabilising…

VERDICT If Aston Martin has anything to teach other makers of super-luxury or exotic cars about how to make your first high-riding SUV, it’s probably that compromise is key. These are the cars that appear to promise the world, but if you get seduced by the versatility of the vehicle concept and the potential of the technology you’re using, you might lose sight of what really matters. If, however, you keep your brand’s core attributes close – distinguishing exterior style, a lavish interior and a driving experience of sporting poise but also tactile involvement and expressive character, in Aston Martin’s case – you can make a very successful and convincing entry into the extra-rarefied SUV niche. The DBX isn’t quite as practical, capable or refined as some rivals, but it…

It’s freezing. The sun is bright but low, a very fresh morning breeze is sweeping across the Goodwood greenery from the sea and I’m sitting in what seems like the most exposed driving seat in the entire Northern Hemisphere: the solitary bucket of an early Range Rover Drivable Chassis (DC), essentially a vehicle with all the running gear of a 1970 Range Rover but no body whatsoever. I’m about to drive this contraption on a lap of the Goodwood Motor Circuit at the head of a 50-vehicle parade to mark the half-century of Britain’s king off-roader. It’s one of three built at the end of the 1960s to demonstrate to Land Rover corporate traditionalists how the soon-to-launch Range Rover’s newfangled coil-sprung, self-levelled suspension and permanent four-wheel drive system would work.…

There isn’t much good news around in these Covid-infested days, particularly from the beleaguered automotive sector, but there is one kind of business that has thrived since the lifting of total lockdown: track days. It’s easy to see why. Even before the pandemic, people were increasingly turning to track days, for two reasons. First, modern performance cars are so fast that it’s increasingly hard to exercise them properly in public. And second, if you do attempt to drive fast on the road rather than track, you will at best incur the wrath of the locals, at worst risk anything from your licence to your liberty. “The track day market isn’t just back to normal but exceeding what could normally be expected,” says Ben Taylor, boss of the British Automobile Racing…

SPECIAL ISSUE Autocar turns 125 Happy birthday to us: we celebrate the best of Autocar, from our very first issue in 1895 right up to the present day DRIVEN Audi E-tron GT This is Audi’s take on the Porsche Taycan, and we’re driving a late prototype FEATURE NSX: still the future? We revisit this hot hybrid to see what it has done for the world of sports cars EVERY WEEK ROAD TEST Alpina B3 Rapid estate ticks so many boxes. Could it get a rare five-star rating? USED BUYING GUIDE Porsche 911 Good new and only getting better, the 964 should be on your radar SUBSCRIBE autocar.co.uk/subscribe or see p20…

MILEAGE 4446 WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT To see how much it matters that this compact BMW has ditched rear-drive I’m getting into my second wind with the BMW M235i, and the air definitely tastes sweeter on several important counts. Our test team’s first contact with the 2 Series Gran Coupé, and my own long-term ‘hello’ report, reflected group regret that this rule-changing compact four-door had ditched BMW’s traditional north-south straight six and rear-wheel drive. Compared with the purity of that original solution, this new car’s transverse front-drive layout – with any potential for wheelspin ‘cured’ by use of a part-time rear drive wherein up to 50% of its torque can be sent to the rear wheels – sounded like a distinctly jury-rigged solution. The same went for its use of…

Volvo S60 It was great to hear from Sean Gresty: “After a few years away doing the whole PCP thing, I’m back on the Bangernomics horse. I’m chuffed with my new 2003 Volvo S60 D5 SE. It has just 60,000 miles, a wodge of service history, a fresh 12-month MOT and two brand-new Michelins on the front. There are only a couple of small dings on one of the rear doors and the interior looks factory-fresh. The best thing is that, at £900, it cost roughly three months of what until recently I was paying on a newish Volvo V40 R-Design PCP deal.”…

Mazda 323F V6 ZXi £3995 Oh, look, a five-door Japanese hatchback with a five-speed manual gearbox, naturally aspirated petrol V6, sporty styling and Nürburgring-honed handling. It ticks all the important boxes, so why hasn’t the 323F achieved classic status yet? Well, this V6 was the most potent engine option yet still developed only 145bhp, the car’s semi-circle silhouette is an acquired taste and an MPG readout in the high-20s is cause for celebration. But it’s a more engaging steer than most of its contemporary rivals and this particular example is specified in range-topping ZXi trim, so it feels much more upmarket inside than it has any right to. The thinking person’s RX-8, perhaps?…

An expert’s view DUNCAN PEARCEY, THE Z FARM “There are now very few genuinely restorable right-hand-drive examples, because 45 years of British winters have ravaged bodies to such an extent that most are beyond redemption. We tend to use them as donors and bring in US cars from dry states, such as California and Arizona. Ten years ago, I was buying decent right-hand-drive cars for £7000-£9000 and making a bit of profit. Now those cars cost three times that. Importing also has its risks. Every so often you find a gem, but by the time you’ve got it here, with shipping and duty, any half-decent car costs £15,000-£20,000.” Buyer beware… ■ BODYWORK The 240Z is a good-looking car from any angle, but kerb appeal is all too often spoiled by…